Mama could cook! She could burn like nobody's business. She could also sew amazingly well, I remember her making some of my clothes and hers. She was a fashionista before the term hit popular culture. She also had a very green thumb. She died when I was eight.I got the cooking from her and my desire to sew. (That desire never materialized into anything wearable or useful.) My green thumb consists of the AeroGarden. I do have a love of quality clothes and good sales, just like she did.
I remembered her fried okra. To be fair, I purchased fresh okra for the first time with the intent of doing something exotic with it, but since I was starving -- I decided to fry half of it. It was a simple decision, but once I remembered Mama making it, it seemed like a very important decision.
I started with Alton Brown's recipes for wet and dry fried okra. I chose the wet version. Here's how it went:
Gather your okra.
Heat the oil.
Chop the okra and rinse in a colander.
Dump into seasoned cornmeal. It's amazing what kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper can do to food. Give it good toss. Shake off the excess cornmeal.
Add the okra carefully to the hot oil. Fry until golden brown on the bottom. Turn the pieces over and fry a few minutes more, until golden brown all over.
I drained mine on a wire rack. Once they were cool enough to eat ... Mmmmm. Mama would be proud!
Tools of the trade:
Tools of the trade:
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